MOUNT ARLINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen and NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington today joined Mount Arlington Mayor Arthur R. Ondish to break ground on the first new rail station to be built in Morris County in six years. With nearly 300 parking spaces ideally located at the Howard Blvd. Interchange, the future Mount Arlington Station is expected to reduce congestion on the busy I-80 corridor by giving commuters the ability to leave their cars in favor of rail service.

When it opens in late 2007, the new station will be served by trains on the Montclair-Boonton Line and the Morristown Line, enabling customers to travel to Hoboken Terminal, where transfers are available to bus, PATH and trans-Hudson ferries. Customers traveling to midtown Manhattan will be able to transfer to MidTOWN DIRECT service at Dover or Montclair State University stations.

"I'm pleased that the Mt. Arlington Intermodal Train Station and Park & Ride project has moved one step closer to becoming a reality," said U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey's senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and a champion for expanding mass transit in northern New Jersey, who secured $6.2 million in federal funds for the project. "A new train station and more parking will be a tremendous asset for those commuters who no longer will have to sit in traffic on Interstate 80 for hours on end."

"The train station is going to be a great addition to our community," said Mayor Ondish. "This will bring much needed relief to the traffic in the area. I believe anything we can do to offer mass transit is a good step forward."

"As we put the shovels into the ground, the future rail station is one step closer to reality, thanks to Gov. Corzine’s hard work on reforming and replenishing the State’s Transportation Trust Fund," said Transportation Commissioner and NJ TRANSIT Chairman Kris Kolluri. "This new rail station in Mount Arlington will help alleviate traffic congestion on one of the most traveled roads in New Jersey."

"The construction of this train station is a project that the county has endorsed for a very long time," said Margaret Nordstrum, Morris County Freeholder Director. "With all of the commuters traveling from the western part of the state traveling east, this will allow them to get on the train before reaching the congested interchange of Route 80 and Route 15."

"The county realized that this site would be excellent for a park and ride with its access to I-80 and the train," said Walter P. Krich, Jr. Director, Morrid County Department of Planning, Development and Technology. "In 1994 we hired an engineering firm, which produced a report and site plan showing ingress and egress, parking, and lighting. We are extremely happy that this site is now being developed to its fullest potential."

"The future Mount Arlington Station will turn the existing bus park & ride into a multi-modal transportation hub," said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director George D. Warrington. "Bringing rail service to the site will mean more service and better travel options for customers along the I-80 corridor."

The project also will reconfigure and expand by 57 spaces the existing parking lot, which is today a carpool and bus park & ride, bringing the total capacity to nearly 300 spaces. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) built the lot in 2003.

The new facility, which will be fully accessible for customers with disabilities, will feature two high-level platforms, heated waiting shelters on the inbound platform, a pedestrian underpass and public address and passenger communications systems.

Terminal Construction Corp. of Wood-Ridge will construct the new station and associated improvements under a $12.1 million construction contract.

About NJ TRANSIT

NJ TRANSIT is the nation's largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 827,000 daily trips on 240 bus routes, three light rail lines and 11 commuter rail lines. It is the third largest transit system in the country with 162 rail stations, 55 light rail stations and more than 18,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia.